The past days have brought alarming news about the Covid-19 pandemic from around the globe. Record new infections have been recorded in some East Asian countries, including South Korea and Thailand. Germany, previously admired for its Covid-19 response, has lost control of the numbers and entered a new hard lockdown on 16 December. Australia has imposed new restrictions following an outbreak in the Sydney urban region. Last Thursday, Brazil recorded more than 1,000 new cases in one day for the first time in three months.
In countries that celebrate Christmas, authorities are concerned about the potential for large movements of people, travelling to be with relatives in indoor spaces (especially in the mid-winter northern hemisphere), to spread the virus beyond its current hotspots. On Saturday, Boris Johnson – citing a new strain of the virus that seems to spread especially fast – imposed a new lockdown in London and much of south-east England. Since then, a succession of countries in Europe and beyond have stopped flights from the UK; France has even temporarily suspended lorry traffic.
Content from our partners
